Case or cabinet for automatic piano-players.



No. 680,3I0. Patented Aug. I3, I90I.

' T. P. BROWN.v

CASE 0R CABINET FOR AUTOMATIC PIANO PLAYERS.

(Application led Mar. 8, 1901.)

(No Modal.)

UNITED STATES muon.

CASE OR CABINET FOR AUTOMATIC PlANO-TLAYERS.

SPECIFICATION 'forming part of Letters Patent No. 680,310, dated Aug-ust 13, 1901.

Application led March 8, 1901. Serial No. 50,281. (No model.)

To all whom, it ntcty concern:

Be it known that I, THEoDonE-PARKER BROWN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Worcester, in the county of Worcester and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Cases or Cabinets for Automatic Piano-Players; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to Which it appertains to make and use the same.

My present invention relates to a case or cabinet for that type of instruments commonly known as automatic players, such as are designed to be moved up in front of a piano or other key-operated musical instrument, so that the striker-rods Will overhang the keys of the instrument in the Well-known manner; and the invention has for its object to simplify the construction generally of such acase or cabinet and render the same less expensive to manufacture. In instruments of this kind it is necessary to provide some means for vertically adjusting that portion thereof that carries the striker-rods in order that the rods of the latter may be accurately positioned'over and in close relation to or contact With the keys of the musical instrument to be operated, as is Well understood; and it is one purpose of this invention, therefore, to provide simple and easily-operated means for accomplishing this vertical adjustment.

It is a further purpose of the invention to provide a simple and ,inexpensive construction of fall-board adapted to cover the tracker-range and note-sheet and which may be moved to permit ready access to these parts, the construction and arrangement ofv said fall-board being such that when the latter is in its open position itwill be out of view and there Will be but a small opening leading directlyl to the interior of the case or cabinet, so that the parts contained therein will thus be protected from dust and interference from other sources.

To these ends the invention comprises the novel features of construction and arrangement of parts hereinafter to be described in detail and then more particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the annexed drawings, illustrating the invention, Figure l is a central vertical section of a case or cabinet made according to Ysuitable turning means.

this invention. Fig. 2 is a front View of the case or cabinet, and Fig. 3 is a detail perspective view of the fall-board.

The case or cabinet comprises the front l, back sections 2 2, top 3, ends 4, and pivoted fall-board. In the rear of the case is a longitudinal opening or recess 5 to receive the keyboard of a musical instrument, such as a piano, and in the upper part of the case or cabinet are arranged the poWer-pneumatics G, strikerrods 7, tracker-board S, and musicrollers E). As these operating elements form no part of the present invention, they need not be here described in detail.

At each corner of the case or cabinet, and' preferably upon the under side thereof, is arranged a guide-block 10, that may be ornamented in any preferred manner to represent a capital for the legs, hereinafter referred to, and each guide-block is provided With a vertical opening for a purpose presently to be explained.

The supporting base or structure for the case orcabinet comprises a bottom frame comof said legs being connected at their upper endsA by means of a rail'l. Extending longitudinally from rear to front on each end of the cabinet or case, at the bottom thereof, is a fixed board or block 16, Which carries a freelyturning thumb-screw 17, said thumb-screws being held against longitudinal movement in said board by any suitable means and which are provided With Winged nuts 18 or other The upper ends of these thumb-screws are passed through and have a threaded connection with nut-s 19, carried by the rails 15. It Will thus be seen that upon turning the thumb-screws in the proper direction the case or cabinet may be quickly and easily raised or lowered upon the supporting base or structure to obtain the desired adjustment thereof with relation to the keyboard of the piano.

I have herein shown and described What I consider to be the preferred mannerof mounting and adjusting the case or cabinet; but I do not wish to be understood as limiting my- IOO self to the specific means set forth, as such may be niodied without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

A further feature of this invention relates to the fallboard, heretofore referred to. This fallboard Vis arranged to cover the tracker-range and music-sheet 'rollers when the instrument is not in operation. The fallboard comprises a curved board or section 20, having a rearwardly or laterally extending wing 2l, that is provided at its outer ends with pintles 22, by which the fall-board is pivotally mounted in the case or cabinet. By referring to Fig. l of the drawings it will be seen that the fall-board is pivoted adjacent to the lower end of the tracker, and the wing 2l being solid and extending from end to end of the opening to be closed by said fall-board one-half of this opening will be closed by the win g when the fall-board is lowered, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. l, so that the parts within thc case or cabinet cannot be tampered with and the entrance of dust therein will be excluded to a considerable extent. It will also be seen that when the fall-board is in its open position it will be oiit of the way of the operator and out of View.

Minor changes and additions may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I` claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. lA case or cabinet for automatic players of the class described, comprising a case proper, guide-blocks carried by said case,each provided with a vertical opening, supportinglegs for the case extended through said guideblocks, and means for vertically adjusting said case upon the legs.

2. A case or cabinet for automatic players of the class described, comprising a case proper having guide-blocks each provided with a vertical opening extending therethrough, a supporting base or structure having legs extending through the openings in said guide-blocks, and means for vertically adjusting said case upon the supporting base or structure.

3. A case or cabinet for automatic players of the class described, comprising a case proper having guide-blocks depending from the under side thereof, and each provided with a vertical opening extending therethrough, a supporting base or structure having legs extending upward through the openings in the guide-blocks, and means for vertically adjusting said case upon the supporting base or structure.

4t. A case or cabinet for automatic players of the class described, comprising a rectangular case proper having guide-blocks depending from the under side thereof at the four corners and each provided with a vertical opening, a supporting base or structure having four legs extending upward through the openings in said guide-blocks, and means for vertically adjusting said case upon the supporting base or structure.

5. A case or cabinet for automatic players, comprising a rectangular case proper having guide-blocks depending from the under side thereof at the four corners and each provided with a vertical opening, a supporting base or structure comprising end pieces connected together, and legs carried by the end pieces and extending upward through said guideblocks, rails connecting the upper ends of said legs, and adjusting means engaging said case proper and rails, for the purpose specitied.

6. A case or cabinet for automatic players, comprising a case proper having guide-blocks depending from the under side thereof and each'provided with a vertical opening, supporting-legs extending freely through said guide-blocks and entering the case proper, and adjusting means engaging the case proper and legs, respectively, whereby the case may be adjusted vertically upon the legs.

7. A case or cabinet for automatic players of the class specified, comprising a case proper having guide-blocks depending from the under side thereof and each provided with a longitudinal opening, supporting-legs extending freely through said guide-blocks and entering the case proper, and adjustingscrews having a threaded connection with the case proper and with the legs for vertically adjusting the case proper.

8. A case or cabinet for automatic players of the class specified, comprising a case proper having an opening in its front, a tracker facing said opening and a fall-board pivoted to said case proper and arranged to cover the tracker and close said opening, said fall-board being provided at its lower edge with an inwardly-extending Wing arranged to partially close the opening in the caso proper when the fall-board is in its open position.

9. A case or cabinet for automatic players of the class specified, comprising a case proper having an opening in its front, a tracker facing said opening and a fall-board arranged to cover the tracker and close said opening, said fall-board comprising a curved portion and a rearwardly extending wing formed integral with the lower edge of the curved portion and pivoted at its ends to the case proper adjacent to the inner end of the tracker, the construction being such that the said wing partially closes the said opening in the case when the fall-board is in its open position, and the curved portion covers the tracker when said board is in its closed position.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

THEODORE PARKER BROWN.

Witnesses:

RUFUs B. Denen, Jr., Henner E. SMITH.

IIo' 

